Why the U.S. is the Land of Opportunity

I have a new theory about why so many people from around the world want to come to the U.S. Forget good-paying jobs, free public schools, or the chance to become rich. It's really because IT TAKES LESS TIME TO DO JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING.

Saying the U.S. is the "land of opportunity" is code speak for "Since it takes a fraction of the time to do the necessary paperwork for living, you actually have time to do something with your life."

This theory is predicated on one the hubby developed during our time in Uganda: That the British built their empire by forming such a huge bureaucracy that the people under their dominion had no time to revolt, because they were too busy filling out forms. Other nations saw how well it worked and followed suit.

In order to buy a car we had to (1) certify that we live where we live. This required the services of an escribano. Of which there is no real equivalent in the U.S. An escribano is basically a "master of the system" (refer back to bureaucracy). When I try to translate escribano into English, wordreference.com comes up with "notary public," but that's just a small part of what an escribano does.

This morning the hubby is off to (2) register us with a tax authority.

And some time this week we (3) have to get married.

All that BEFORE we can (4) register the car in our name.

WARNING! WARNING! PROUD PARENT ALERT!

I wish we could have been in Indiana yesterday as the daughter was inducted into Alpha Chi. As anticipated, the worst part was trying to figure out what to wear. Oh the dilemma! But I think she made a good choice in the black ensemble with red sweater, don't you? Her grandma attended the ceremony and someone snapped this cute photo of them afterward. [A good reminder of how glad we are that Tina's living in her grandparents' basement apartment and they can watch out for one another.]

And here she is with her advisor. (I've always thought it would be fun to be a professor just so I could dress up like that on a regular basis.) When he introduced her he said some nice things, including that she's an "intelligent and entertaining" writer. Oh that does my heart good! I've always thought the same thing, but then I'm just a wee bit biased. While going through boxes before we moved I found some things I'd saved from our years of homeschooling, including some early essays by my girl. And yep, she showed signs of being an "intelligent and entertaining" writer even then :-)

Okay, Proud Parent Alert over.

We did get the garage cleared out enough to park the car inside. What a nice feeling of accomplishment! The boxes and some of hubby's tools are stacked against the back wall, somewhat hidden by a "curtain" made from rope and a tarp. And there's plenty enough room left for our little car.

Later today I hope to check out the fabric store in town and see if they have something I can use to line the curtains. It's been pretty hot and the sooner the curtains are up, the sooner we can block all the nice sunshine from making it seem like a greenhouse in here. We're also going to have to buy a fan 'cause the nights have been a tad uncomfortable.

We started making a list of all the projects around the house. Ridiculously long! But we just need to take it poco a poco. Of course other things will keep getting added. You're never truly done with a house; there's always something more. But it sure is a good feeling when you can check one off!